Three days after an 11-year-old girl fell off a horse and hit her head on the Westside... her future is still uncertain. Natasha Holt is the daughter of Jacksonville city councilman Ray Holt. She remains in the hospital tonight after getting injured while riding with her family and friends on Sunday. Channel 4's Vic Micolucci talked to a local neurologist ...Not affiliated with the girl's treatment ... about what doctors are doing to save her life. Vic joins us live ... Vic/ 3 3 3 Brain injuries are so dangerous...and so tough to treat. This girl is fighting for her life right now...and doctors say if there is anything positive about all this -- it's her age.Because being so young may help her recover. :05-:10:25-29 43:42 "Traumatic brain injuries are at the very least very dangerous." Doctor Ravi Yarlagadda is a neurologist at St.Vincent's Hospital.He's not treating the girl, but did give us some insight into her kind of injury. He says it will be an uphill battle...and brain injuries are always so tough to treat....but the fact that she's young may be a positive thing.44:53 "Age seems to be on her side. Beacuse the risk of long term damage in terms of the immediate outcome standpoint, seems to be always worse as we get older." According to police, Natasha Holt fell off the horse and hit her head on a tree. People at the scene did CPR to revive her...and a helcopter flew her to the hospital. Our neurologist says that was a crucial time for the girl's survival...and the sooner patients like her get to the hosptial, the better off they'll be.If she does survive, which everyone is hoping for, she could still face a lifetime of problems.. But there is ALWAYS hope ...that she can make a full recovery. Many doctors say the first few days will tell a lot about the girl's future. Doctor Yarlagadda says it's true, but even then, head injuries are always changing and unpredictable. 49:52 "It keeps changing from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day. And theres no way to predict because of that what could be an outcome, even within those 72 hours." 3 "Tasha is hanging in there. The family appreciates all the outpouring of love and concern. What we need is continued prayer.There is still some uncertainty but there is much hope". - Nanette Holt, Natasha's mother 3 And Natasha Vic, could Natasha have to undergo brain surgery to help in her recovery?

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -

Three days after an 11-year-old girl fell off a horse and hit her head on the Westside, her future is still uncertain.

Quick Clicks

Natasha Holt, the daughter of Jacksonville city councilman Ray Holt, was injured while riding with her family and friends Sunday. She remains in the hospital with a head injury.

Doctors say if there is anything positive about all this, it's Natasha's age, because being so young may help her recover.

"Traumatic brain injuries are at the very least very dangerous," said Dr. Ravi Yarlagadda, a neurologist at St. Vincent's Medical Center.

He's not treating the girl but did give some insight into her kind of injury. He said it will be an uphill battle, and brain injuries are always so tough to treat. But the fact that she's young may be a positive thing.

"Age seems to be on her side, because the risk of long-term damage in terms of the immediate outcome standpoint seems to be always worse as we get older," Yarlagadda said.

According to police, Natasha fell off the horse and hit her head on a tree. People at the scene did CPR to revive her, and a helicopter flew her to the hospital.

Yarlagadda said that was a crucial time for the girl's survival, and the sooner patients like her get to the hospital, the better off they'll be.

If she does survive, she could still face a lifetime of problems, ranging from mental disabilities to physical weakness to chronic pain. But there is always hope she can make a full recovery.

Many doctors say the first few days will tell a lot about the girl's future. Yarlagadda said that's true, but even then, head injuries are always changing and unpredictable.

"It keeps changing from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day, and there's no way to predict because of that what could be an outcome, even within those 72 hours," he said.

Natasha remains at Wolfson Children's Hospital in critical condition. Her family and friends say there are a lot of people supporting her and praying she makes a full recovery.

"Tasha is hanging in there," Nanette Holt, Natasha's mother, said in a statement. "The family appreciates all the outpouring of love and concern. What we need is continued prayer. There is still some uncertainty but there is much hope."

Copyright 2013 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments

The views expressed below are not those of News4Jax or its affiliated companies. By clicking on "Post," you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and your comment is in compliance with such terms. Readers, please help keep this discussion respectful and on topic by flagging comments that are offensive or inappropriate (hover over the commenter's name and you'll see the flag option appear on right side of that line). And remember, respect goes both ways: Tolerance of others' opinions is important in a free discourse. If you're easily offended by strong opinions, you might skip reading comments entirely.

National News

Thousands of California acres are ablaze as firefighters battle at least 21 wildfires throughout the state, but while many of those fires are small or mostly contained, the wind and heat that are spreading the Rocky Fire in Northern California -- and...